5.  On 24 May 2003 the applicants founded an association named “Azerbaijani Lawyers Forum” (“Azərbaycan Hüquqşünaslarının Forumu” İctimai Birliyi). This was a non-profit organisation established with the purpose of carrying out various activities aimed at further democratisation of society, the formation of a state governed by the rule of law, liaison between lawyers, and the protection of their professional interests.
6.  On 23 June 2003 the applicants lodged a request for the association’s state registration with the Ministry of Justice (hereafter also referred to as “the Ministry”), the government authority responsible for the state registration of legal entities. In accordance with the domestic law, a non‑governmental organisation acquired the status of legal entity only upon its state registration by the Ministry of Justice.
7.  Under the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities of 6 February 1996 (“the Old State Registration Act”), applicable at that time, the Ministry was obliged to respond to the applicants’ registration request within ten days after receipt of the request. However, the applicants did not receive any response for several months.
8.  In March 2004 the applicants lodged an action with the Yasamal District Court, complaining that the Ministry had “evaded” registering their organisation and asking the court to compel the Ministry to register it. They claimed that the delay in state registration constituted a violation of their right to freedom of association under Article 58 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the Convention, and demanded compensation for non‑pecuniary damage.
9.  In its pleadings submitted to the court in reply to the applicants’ claim, the Ministry of Justice argued that on 18 February 2004 it had sent an official response to the association’s legal address. However, the postal service had not been able to deliver it because there had been a mistake in the recipient’s address printed on the envelope. The Ministry re-sent the official response to the correct address on 28 June 2004. In that response, the Ministry noted that it was returning the registration documents to the applicants “without taking any action”, that is to say without issuing a state registration certificate or an official refusal to register the association. The reason was the applicants’ failure to include the description of the association’s activity in its name, as required by Article 3.1 of the Law on Non-Governmental Organisations (Associations and Funds), and to approve the association’s charter, by signing it, as required by Article 47.1 of the Civil Code.
10.  On 24 January 2005 the Yasamal District Court dismissed the applicants’ claim. The court found that the Ministry had issued a formal response to the applicants’ registration request on 18 February 2004, although the applicants did not receive it at that time owing to an unintentional mistake in the recipient’s address. The court further dismissed the applicants’ claim that the Ministry had failed to comply with the ten-day time-limit laid down by the Old State Registration Act. The court noted that, in the meantime, on 9 January 2004 a new Law on State Registration and the State Register of Legal Entities (“the New State Registration Act”) had entered into force and superseded the Old State Registration Act. In accordance with the New State Registration Act, the time-limit for the Ministry’s formal response to a registration request was extended to 40 working days after the receipt of the request. The court reasoned that, since the Old State Registration Act was no longer in force, the time-limits set by it no longer applied, and that a new time-limit of 40 days had been applicable since 9 January 2004, the date of entry into force of the New State Registration Act. Accordingly, the court ruled that the Ministry had responded within the statutory time-limit and that the applicants could re‑apply for state registration after rectifying the deficiencies found by the Ministry in their registration documents.
11.  On 19 April 2005 the Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance court’s judgment.
12.  On 29 June 2005 the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s judgment.